The new Jetta Hybrid fuses a 1.4-liter four-cylinder gas engine with a small electric motor to yield 170 combined horsepower, and -- importantly -- 40-plus miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving.

Last week, we snagged one of the two Jetta Hybrids on the lot at Village VW of Chattanooga, courtesy of sales manager Ron Kwaitkowski.

VW has estimated that hybrids may account for about 5 percent of Jetta sales this year, according to reports in the automotive press -- not a lot, but enough for VW to get a foothold in the hybrid segment.

STYLING AND COMFORT

If you drive a new car every week like I do, it's easy to get design fatigue. Sometimes it takes going to the VW store to clear your head.

Like all VW products, the Jetta Hybrid proves the axiom: Less is more. Aside from some discreet exterior Hybrid badges and a label on the glovebox, the Jetta Hybrid looks just like a standard model. Which is not bad. Conservative sheet metal in Black Pearl pairs well with 10-spoke alloys. A thin chrome accent runs from the A-pillar to the C-pillar and the trunk lid has a small spoiler.

Inside, our test car featured a two-tone color scheme, Cornsilk Beige leatherette seats, and black and white dash. The cabin has a classy richness often absent in today's more popular, but monotonous, all-black cabins. The Jetta's dash is gratifyingly simple, with nice round gauges and a simple AC and stereo layout. What a gift it was to be able to operate the radio on the first try.

Our test car was an SE model and featured such standard equipment as 15-inch alloys, leatherette seats, touchscreen radio, keyless entry and LED tail-lights.

DRIVING IMPRESSIONS

The bane of many hybrid sedans is the mind-numbing driving dynamics that accompany CVT transmissions and whisper-quiet drive-trains. The Jetta Hybrid, on the other hand, comes with VW's slick, seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. You can actually feel and hear the gear shifts, so all the fun is not sucked out of the drive home.

While not quite as explosive off the mark as the Jetta TDI, the Jetta Hybrid is plenty punchy. VW estimates the car's 0-60 mph time at roughly 8.6 seconds. The company also says the Jetta Hybrid can accelerate up to 37 mph under electric power only.

The small four-cylinder engine is mated to a 20kW electric motor powered by a battery pack over the rear axle that somewhat reduces storage space in the car's trunk.

On a test drive on area highways last week, the Jetta Hybrid proved to be a spunky companion with the precise steering and solid feel synonymous with a German engineered sedan.

BOTTOM LINE

The base Jetta Hybrid starts at $25,000, about $2,000 more than the Jetta TDI. Our test car carried a sticker price of $27,820.

There are cheaper hybrids to be had, but few, if any, have the cache and build-quality of the Jetta Hybrid. If you're young, upwardly mobile, and want to be the first on the block with an impressive new toy, this could absolutely be your new ride.

Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645. Follow him on Twitter @TFPCOLUMNIST. Subscribe to his Facebook updates at www.facebook.com/mkennedycolumnist.